Home equity line of credit (HELOC)

Home equity line of credit (HELOC), a type of loan that uses a borrower’s equity in his house as collateral. In a home equity line of credit (HELOC), the lender agrees to provide up to a certain amount of money to the borrower within a specified period, the amount depending on the amount of equity the borrower has on the house.

A HELOC differs from a conventional home equity loan in that the borrower is not given the entire sum up front but is extended a line of credit from which he can withdraw sums as long as the total does not exceed the credit limit provided. In some respects, a HELOC resembles a credit card, but the credit is backed by the home equity of the borrower. For this reason, the limits provided are usually much larger than for a credit card.

The borrower pays back the principal plus interest, which is usually a variable rate based on an index, such as the federal funds rate (the rate at which banks lend money to each other overnight), plus some margin charged by the lender. Because the underlying collateral in a HELOC is the home, failure to repay the loan may result in foreclosure.

HELOCs were very popular before the financial crisis of 2007–08. Taking advantage of rising home prices, which provided quick equity that could be used as collateral, many households opened HELOCs to finance home-improvement projects, new-car purchases, and many other expenditures.

The financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession caused dramatic reductions in house prices and wiped out much of the existing equity of homeowners. As a result, major home equity lenders froze, suspended, or restricted the HELOCs they had previously extended to borrowers.

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